This feedback based on 72 hours of play. Ill try to keep it to the point and as simple as possible. I am also aware of the exp reduction rate specifically for this CBT but my feedback will still be based on that rate.
Quest Progression
The way the normal quests or Blue Flag quests are set up is actually very nice. I like the whole “Find the quests for yourself” setup. Some quests are obvious to find by simply speaking to an NPC and others you will have you inspect random objects in the map. The way you revamped the quests system was fine I only found problems with the main story-quests and the main problem was the level requirement jump.
When doing the story line quest you would be a certain level and suddenly be sent to an area that has much higher level mobs than you only to have the quest line suddenly stop or end up having to deal with the much stronger mobs. The level requirement jump I can deal with but more often than not I found myself doing 1 or 2 story line quests, go back to grinding a bunch of levels, do 2 or more story line quests and back to grinding again, this really messed up with the quest flow. Now I am aware than I can simply grind a lot of levels then go back to story line quests but it will only be a matter of time before I am forced to grind again because the the quest level requirement scales much faster than the player.
What I suggest is:
- Have the story quest split up into episodes and have a huge bulk of them in each episode splitting them up by level range requirement. This will make the quest flow a lot more smoother and will easily convey to player what level they need to be to finish the next set of quests.
- Try not to make the player have to deal with higher level mobs when setting level requirements. Not every class can deal with higher level mobs
- When having the player do a story quest in a dungeon try to make it so they can finish the entire quest line within that dungeon rather than splitting it up floor by floor.
Basically my main suggestion is to keep the quest flow smooth rather than breaking it up every 4 or 3 levels.
Grind Progression
Now I don’t mind grinding in fact I am glad the game had a lot of grinding but I still had issues with it. My main issue was how soon the grind hit and how very few spots you can find to do optimal grinding so early on are available. The most optimal way to grind is to find a spot that spawns a lot mobs and clear it over and over with a party until a blue mob spawn or by being a class that was efficient at mobbing., however mobbing/grind spots are very very few in number, in fact I could only think of 3 grind spots at the moment.
The problem with this is it means that those spots will be highly competed for with little alternative, this however wouldn’t be a problem if the grind didn’t settle in so soon and you progressed a bit faster. Having the grind less tedious means that people wont spend so much time in one spot and free up those highly competed for spots. I seriously spent 20 levels on each spot with a significant amount of hours in each one. I feel like someone should be able to hit their 2nd job advancement at least in 1 or 2 days of casual playing then only have to worry about a few hours of grinding before the grind hits hard.
What I suggest is:
- Have party quests revolved around grinding. When 5 people that are around the same level are in a party, have a party quest that asks you to kill 200 or so of a mob that is within certain range of the average level of the party . The reward will be exp equal to that of what a blue mob would give. Make it so that the kill count will go up even if the party members are killing mobs not within each other’s range. That is just an idea but doing something along those lines makes it so any map is viable for grinding and not just specific spots.
- Have the exp share range be the whole map. This stops players from being forced to clump up in one spot to be in exp share range and allows for players to essentially have the whole map as their grind spot. What this does is again starts to open up more areas to be grind spots rather than just certain hot-spots.
- This one is obvious and I am sure you probably have plans for this, but just make more spots to grind at.
To sum it all up I am basically suggestion that more options to grinding should be opened up.
Classes and Class exp
I have no Issue with the class system or the class exp. Every class had something it was good at and something it didn’t excel in. I didn’t get a chance to test my class out in depth due the grind though so I can’t say much about class balance or anything like that. All I can say is I believe the Class system and the Class progression flow is at a good spot.
Combat and Stamina
The combat controlled very well (I only played melee) and it was extremely stratifying to mow down a bunch of monsters.The stamina system also felt like it was balanced and was not a hindrance at all.
Bosses and Field Bosses
Bosses where fun to fight, I found some very easy to kill while others offered some challenge. I never got a chance to fight a field boss but I fought a few dungeons bosses and really liked how you had to do a few mini quests before you could fight the boss in it’s arena.
One of my issues with the bosses however was when some of them would shoot out “bullets” for a duration. Now this mechanic is fine but it felt so out of place as the monster would just stop awkwardly and fire small pink bullets. I feel like the boss shouldn’t have to stop to do that or at least instead summon Traps that shoot out those bullets for it.
Equipment and Recipes
I enjoyed the good old fashion old school styled gear drops. There were no random stats, they dropped in places that lets you use it right away and it was very straightforward which bit of gear was better than the other. There was also plenty of weapon options to chose from depending on your build. I also liked how equipping a set number of equipment gives bonuses if you learned the attribute for it. The level range for when gears get better is also spread out very nicely and not all over the place so players can easily prepare for their next upgrade and power boost.
The recipe system was also a very nice touch though it was disappointing that you have to have the recipe every single time you craft. Perhaps there will be a class that can bypass that in the future? Other than that, I think Equipment and Recipes are in a good spot.
Gems and Upgrading
My only issue is the cost early on. I found myself upgrading a bit equipment only to find a drop that had better base stats than it, needless to say I was broke and held on to it till I could upgrade it only to once again, find a better bit of gear. Perhaps make upgrading a bit forgiving below level 40?
As for the gems the only thing I would like to see is perhaps more variety? Have some gems with nice little effects that let you deal extra slash damage? or turn a weapon into a stab type weapon? Just some random effects like that. Other than that gems seemed ok for the most part and I liked how you could lose them if you died in a dungeon.
Auction House and Buying
The only problem I found with the auction house was just a few bugs, other than that it was a pretty standard auction house.
The Buying System was also very handy however It would be nice if you could have it up even while you log out.
Cities
The main city of Klaipeda was very beautiful and had a relaxing atmosphere, this is very important as I often came back there to stock up, repair, learn attributes and just take a small break from the grinding. The other city Fedimian which I only had a chance to visit because I was exploring was very beautiful, I had fun just walking around and exploring the city. I feel like Fedimian can become another hot spot for players to relax in if it had an auction house, a storage place and a place to repair/enchant , perhaps consider adding them in the future?
Fields and Dungeons
The way fields and dungeons were laid out was very well done. I liked how one area can lead to an area that has mobs that are much higher level. I had spent the last day exploring all I could and learned that high level areas are woven between low level areas which was very nice touch. Overall the map design and fields are spot on and very atmospheric, i was never sick of being in a place for too long.
Translation
I wont say much, its obvious the translation does still need some work but it was more than enough to play the game, all it needs is some polish and some fixes. Good work people at Guthub.
Music
Love it.
Overall Imprison
What can I say? I loved the game! I had fun playing and I think that’s what matters, if i had fun or not. Sure I was sad that the grind was hardcore and I didn’t get a chance to try out my monk, but there is always next time ( I hope). The game still needs some polish in some areas but I believe its progressing on the right path. The music is nice the style is nice the combat is nice, Tree of Savior has a lot of things going for it and I believe it has a very good future if it keeps up this pace.